


Saints of Los Angeles

by a_dangerous_sociopath



Series: Storm Warning [3]
Category: Video Blogging RPF, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Fluff and Smut, Happy Late Earth Day, Insomnia, M/M, More of a Suggestion of Angst, Outdoor Sex, appreciating nature, extremely mild angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-25 20:23:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18581926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_dangerous_sociopath/pseuds/a_dangerous_sociopath
Summary: Mark's been having a rough time, what with the nightmares, and the insomnia that springs up in dealing with them. Milo would like to take him on a date just to help him get away for a while.Sometimes though, things don't go according to plan.





	Saints of Los Angeles

**Author's Note:**

> So, originally, I had planned to finish out [Hurricane Year](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18118814/chapters/42834728), and then go back and write out a bunch of one shots filling out that missing year Milo and Mark had before that. Then I began to write out chapter six, and Mark and Milo kept fucking referencing what happened during this particular incident. Milo makes an off-hand comment in this that is going to come back to haunt Mark later. (Look, I can guide these characters, but ultimately, they're gonna do and talk about whatever they want. Any story teller knows what I mean, right?) Anyways, I realized that if they do that, and I haven't put that one shot out yet, no one is going to have any fucking idea what they're talking about. 
> 
> So I took a two week detour to quickly write this and put it out into the universe. The next chapter for Hurricane Year isn't going to take this long, I swear. Lmao.

Milo wasn't entirely sure what had woken him up so late at night, not at first. He put a hand out, searching for his partner, only to find the bed disturbingly empty beside him. He sat up, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. He wasn't panicked, not yet. Mark had been having kind of a bout of nightmares lately, and he had the feeling he knew exactly where to find the man. He slid off of the bed, pulled on the first shirt he could find, grasping about in the dark, and headed downstairs. 

 

He found Mark standing at the kitchen counter, one over head light illuminating him. He had a half-eaten hot pocket in one hand, as he read something on his phone in the other. He looked like he was half ready to just start his day, like he'd just about given up on the whole concept of sleep, and when Mark looked up to him, as he silently entered the kitchen, Milo's suspicions were pretty much confirmed. 

 

“Mark?” Milo said, hissing a little at how bright the lights in there were, when he’d essentially came in from complete darkness. “Did you manage to get any sleep at all tonight?” 

 

Mark shrugged a little, swallowing what was in his mouth before he spoke. “Sleep is for the weak.” He answered. Milo snorted. 

 

“Another nightmare?” He asked, and Mark gave him a look. Yeah, he guessed he didn’t really need the answer to that one. “Do you want to talk about it this time?” He asked him, and Mark shook his head instantly. It wasn’t like he was expecting that answer to change either. But he wanted Mark to understand that the offer was there, still, because well. He cared about him. 

 

“Come back to bed. I’ll find a way to help you relax.” Milo offered. “Come on, you're not starting your day at…” he paused, gaze searching out one of the clocks in the kitchen. “2:35.” 

 

“You're not my mom.” Was the typically childish answer he got in response. “Besides, I've got a lot I could be doing anyways. I could be writing, I could be editing…” he began to list off. 

 

“I bet I could put you to sleep.” Milo finally interrupted him. “Easily.”

 

Mark raised an eyebrow at that. “Yeah?” He asked.

 

“Oh yeah.” Milo said, placing his hands flat on the counter of the island that separated them. “You'll sleep  _ so _ good when I'm done with you.”

 

He laid out the bait, he just needed to wait for Mark to accept it. Usually, he did. The nights where he didn’t were few and far between, but Milo had his own tricks for getting his way anyways.

 

“I'm Intrigued.” Mark said after a moment. It was nice when he wasn’t being difficult.

 

“I know you are.” Milo replied, quietly beckoning the man closer with his index finger.

 

Mark hummed, quickly downing the rest of his hot pocket. Milo allowed it. He was gonna need those calories for the work out Milo was about to put him through. 

 

When he was done, Mark moved over to him, and Milo was quick to snatch him up, the canary willingly surrendering to the cat. Milo turned him around and pushed him up against the nearest wall.

 

Mark typically slept well when Milo fucked him senseless.

 

~~

 

Ever since their hike through Camelback Mark had been a little more interested in the sort of out of doors things they could be doing, and Milo figured that hiking was harmless enough. A day trip away from the city, where the various ills that wanted to come for them typically hid. That had gotten Milo researching the various things they could be doing to kind of facilitate that interest. (Which meant that, yes, he was actually using that phone Mark had him buy.) It was easy to forget with all the flashing bright lights and the noise of the city, that there actually were some fairly scenic things to take in, once you made it past the outskirts of the city. 

 

It was late one Sunday afternoon. Mark still had a lot of work to do, but Milo had gently pulled him away for a break. It wasn’t that he thought Mark couldn’t handle the workload, or worried that he was about to overwork himself, or anything like that. It was mostly because  _ he _ wanted Mark’s attention, and he didn’t have any problems admitting that. Even when the man teased him and called him needy for it. 

 

They’d ended up on the couch, watching some show on Netflix. Milo was sitting properly, more or less, one leg crossed over the other. Mark was half lying on the couch, and half across his lap, with his head tucked up against Milo’s hip, hand resting in front of him on his thigh. He could tell that Mark was kind of paying attention to the show, but he would doze off from time to time, Milo could tell by the man’s breathing, by its cadence, and the rise and fall of his chest. It would slow when he was asleep, and jerk suddenly whenever he realized he was asleep.

 

It was adorable. 

 

But it also concerned him, because he understood that it was probably also related to the nightmares he’d been having, and the little bouts of insomnia that came with them. 

 

What Milo wanted to do was really, really tire Mark out. Maybe it’d help him sleep through the night. And there were a couple of fun ways Milo could think of to do that. Surprisingly, not all of them led to sex. (Although yes, sex was definitely a one of them. He was an insatiable man, and thus far, Mark had no real problem keeping up with him.)

 

During one of the times that Mark was awake, Milo glanced at the information he’d saved on his phone. “You ever been up to the Hollywood Sign?” Milo asked. Mark turned his head slightly, raising sleep-heavy eyes to stare at Milo. 

 

“I mean, yeah.” Mark replied, stretching out a bit leisurely. “Been all over Griffith park. It was one of the first things I did when I came out here.” 

 

“No, I meant, have you been up the trail to the actual sign?” Milo asked. Mark blinked at him a little. 

 

“I didn’t think you could do that.” Mark answered. “Not anymore.” 

 

“No, you can still get up there, it’s just kind of a hike. Think you’d be up to it?” Milo asked. 

 

“Right now?” Mark asked.

 

“Yeah, right now.” Milo returned. “The weather’s nice, and we’d be coming back down at night, but it’s not all that difficult of a path to follow.” he said. 

 

Mark hummed a little, considering it. 

 

“Yeah, sure.” He finally decided. “Show me.” 

 

~~

 

The sun was setting when Milo parked the car, as close as they could get to the entrance of the trail. It was a little bit of a walk from there, but they were both fairly fit individuals, and Milo trusted himself to keep an eye on Mark, to gauge how he was doing, and when to stop things if it got to be too much. He honestly didn’t think the trail would be much of a problem for him, though, even at night, when they’d eventually be making their way back down. With a couple of water bottles tucked into a small backpack, Milo began to lead the man up the trail. Mark seemed pretty thoroughly entertained by it, and it took him all of two seconds to turn it into a competition, moving ahead of Milo on the trail with a bit of a mischievous grin. 

 

“You’re falling behind, sweetheart.” Mark called after him, drawing a smirk out of Milo.

 

“I’m pacing myself. Which you ought to be doing, too.” Milo called back. He didn’t particularly need to pace himself, but Mark probably still did, so he was trying to set an example.

 

“That sounds like loser talk to me.” Mark cackled a little.

 

Milo snickered, and kept his pace behind the other man. The wind was beginning to pick up, dry and warm. Milo watched as it picked at the dark strands of Mark’s hair, lifting them up until they floated over him in an otherworldly kind of way, resembling a halo. It almost made Milo a little homesick.

 

As they walked along, it got a little bit darker, the trail leading up to the sign a little bit harder to see, but the close by city lights also provided a good amount of light. The surrounding area was beautiful. A recent fire had wiped out most of the trees, but nature always seemed to come back with roar. There was a good amount of brush on either side of them. And as the sun set, and shadows got longer, the feel of the area began to change, ever so slightly. It was almost electric. A static feeling in the air.

 

If Mark noticed, he didn’t say anything. 

 

Milo paused, allowing Mark to get something of a lead on him, while still keeping an eye on the man. He just had that feeling. As he stood there, paying attention to their surroundings, Milo heard something that confirmed his suspicions. It was a soft sound, almost like a growl. There was something not human hiding nearby. 

 

Which was a little frustrating. He’d brought Mark out here to help him relax, not scare him to fucking death and make him not want to go out on spontaneous dates like this anymore. Which really meant that Milo had one option, here.

 

He had to dissolve the threat quickly, quietly, without Mark noticing. 

 

He watched Mark continue up the hill, and Milo, as quietly as he could, stepped off of the trail. It took him next to nothing to find the demon hiding in the brush, crouched low, ready to pounce. It looked pretty stunned to see Milo find him first, but it should have known better. Milo could tell without even needing to fight him, that he wasn’t a particularly powerful demon. Not nearly on the same level as Bael. Milo snapped its neck without much of a fuss, and shoved the corpse back down into the bushes. He watched it for a moment, twitching in it’s death spasms, just to make sure it was really dead before he returned to the trail. He shoved his hands into his pockets, keeping his head down low, as he continued behind Mark.

 

As he moved, he heard a cacophony of hissing noises in his wake.

 

Yeah, he guess it made sense that the one demon would have brought his friends, in case this assassination attempt went awry. Which was likely, because Milo wasn’t about to get killed by a couple of low-level wannabes. The thing that made this hard, was going to be keeping an eye on Mark while all of this shit went down, without him also noticing.

 

Well, it was going to make for an interesting evening, at any rate. Maybe he’d even tell Mark about it one day, when everything had calmed down and they could laugh about this shit. 

 

Milo placed a hand on his hidden sheath, ready to pull out his knife, when a few feet above him on the trail, Mark paused. He turned around to gauge Milo’s progress, looking a little confused. He clearly didn’t expect to see Milo lagging so hard.

 

“Are you… okay?” Mark asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he eyed the other man suspiciously. 

 

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” Milo insisted. “You can go on ahead, I’m just, taking in the scenery.”

 

Mark narrowed his eyes at him for a moment, like he was trying to figure out what Milo’s game was. Milo shifted a quick glance over to the side, keeping track of the various movements of their enemies, while he waited. He was incredibly worried that one of them would strike out at him or Mark and completely give the game away.  _ Come on, Mark, just fucking keep walking _ , he thought to himself in kind of a panic. Eventually, Mark just shrugged and turned back to the path. 

 

“Okay, catch up.” Mark told him, as he moved along. 

 

“On my way.” Milo replied, breathing out a sigh of relief. He glanced over as a close by demon, this one sort of resembling a wolf, stepped onto the road. Milo brandished his weapon and sighed. He just wanted to take Mark on a nice, calm date. He ended up grabbing that one by the snout, holding it closed so it couldn’t make much noise, and thrusting his sword into its throat. It struggled a little, as it bled out, and Milo carefully tucked it’s still twitching corpse behind a bush, hoping that Mark couldn’t see it on their way down. 

 

Behind him, he heard a branch snap, and Milo sighed. 

 

“Alright, how many more of you are there?” He finally hissed. As he turned back to the road behind them, he counted, one, two… eventually four of the creatures revealing themselves. Well, at least they were being cooperative, as they threw themselves at their deaths. 

 

Milo glanced back to where Mark was approaching a bend in the trail. He really didn’t need Mark reaching that, glancing back over his shoulder, and seeing all this bullshit happening behind him. So he quickly snapped back towards the group trying to attack them. “Alright, I really don’t have the time for all this one on one shit; just bum-rush me and let’s get this over with.” 

 

The group all looked a little confused at that request. Milo rolled his eyes. “Come on, ladies, I really don’t have all night to be killing you one by one. I have a hot date, so make this easier on me.” He held his arms out. “There’s four of you, and one of me. Don’t be bitches.” 

 

That seemed to do it. All at once, all four of them came at him. Milo held out his knife and grinned. 

 

~~

 

Mark turned and looked for Milo again once he reached the bend in the trail, and was a little surprised to see that the man wasn’t behind him anymore. In fact there was no one behind him. Confused, Mark carefully examined the area, ducking his head down a little, trying to get a better look. The area was still kind of dimly lit, with the mountain beginning to block the path of the sun a little, but he could still make out somethings. If MIlo was anywhere behind him, he should have seen him. “Milo?” he called out, feeling his heart begin to pound a little, as he nervously watched the area. He didn’t like that the man was just suddenly gone. Mark took a step forward, when suddenly, he felt someone grab his elbow. Mark gasped, whirling around to find that it was only Milo. 

 

“Jesus shit-dicking Christ.” Mark swore, hunching over a little, hand covering his heart as it raced violently. “You scared the bejeezus out of me.” Mark wheezed. 

 

“Sorry.” Milo said drily. “I was just catching up.” He reached out gently, helping to set Mark upright, but Mark kind of had the feeling that Milo was checking him over. For what, he wasn’t exactly sure. 

 

“Yeah, so you say.” Mark shook his head, grabbing a hold Milo’s wrist and tugging. “Keep up a little better, we’re almost there.” He said.

 

Milo allowed Mark to guide him the rest of the way, as they reached the summit of Mt Lee. With the sun almost totally set behind them it was beautiful. The actual sign was a short, steep couple of feet beneath them. 

 

Mark smiled a bit, moving over towards the edge of the hill and taking a seat, legs kind of dangling down over the side. Milo checked the area for rattlesnakes first, and then he sat down next to Mark in a similar fashion. Mark glanced over to him as he did, leaning in a little so that he could rest his head against Milo’s shoulder. 

 

“So you going to tell me what the deal was with all that Mortal Kombat shit you were pulling, or are you going to keep acting like it didn’t happen?” Mark asked him then, drawing a sigh out of his boyfriend. 

 

“You saw all of that.” He finally, probably needlessly inferred. 

 

Mark snorted. “I’m not an idiot.” He pointed out. “Besides, you have blood on your shirt.” 

 

Milo glanced down, examining his chest, and sure enough, there was the tiniest, almost unnoticeable droplet on the bottom hedge. If it had been a few more inches to his right, his jacket would have completely covered it. Milo grimaced a bit, tugging the jacket over it. 

 

“It was a very, very weak assassination attempt on us.” Milo said. “I’m not entirely sure how they could have found us. It’s not like we planned this excursion.” He said. “So my feelings are that someone much more powerful sent them. Like a warning. Knowing full well that I would destroy them.” He said with a shrug. 

 

“Is that going to be a problem for us?” Mark asked, and Milo shrugged. 

 

“Not unless they actually manage to find someone competent to fight me. Dismal chance of that, considering how fast these clowns went down.” He said. 

 

Mark hummed softly. “And why would you keep that from me?” He asked then. 

 

Milo sighed. “It’s not a good excuse, but, I didn’t want you to get scared.” Milo finally admitted. “I know you haven’t been sleeping well lately. I know you have nightmares you don’t want to talk about. So I wanted you to enjoy a relaxing, spontaneous night with me, without a group of humorless chucklefucks showing up and ruining it.” He said. “You’re going to want to work on your… projects this week. So I thought we deserved a few hours alone together. That’s all.” 

 

Mark smiled at that. Milo was right about the nightmares. They’d been making it pretty hard for him. He could see that it was affecting his work. Everything he’d been putting out lately… well, it was still good, and probably no one would say otherwise, but he had this nagging feeling that he could do better. So for Milo to want to try and fix all that? “That’s actually very sweet.” He said. “And I appreciate it. But what I think I’d appreciate even more, a little bit of a heads up when someone’s trying to kill us.”

 

“Duly noted.” Milo agreed.

 

Mark settled back against the other man then, allowing Milo to wrap an arm around his shoulders and tug him in, watching as the sun finally set, taking the last edges of twilight with it. The city far beneath them light up the area they were in, to a degree that actually kind of surprised Mark. 

 

Now that everything was marginally safe, (because, Milo was with him, and he knew that Milo would never let anything happen to him, especially after all this nonsense) Mark began to feel a little bit playful. He stood up, trying to gauge a pathway down in the dim light.

 

“Ah, Mark.” Milo said, warily. “What are you doing?” 

 

“Something stupid.” Mark replied, as he began to, very carefully, pick his way down the steep hill.

 

“Usually.” Milo agreed, to which Mark responded by flipping him the bird, without even turning around to properly deliver it. He was pretty focused on moving down, without getting hurt. 

 

Right as he reached the bottom of the hill, Mark finally lost his balance, tipping over and having to catch onto the nearby chain link fence to keep himself from completely flying down the hill, or worse, he assumed, smacking face first into one of those giant letters. In an instant, Milo was at his side, which was kind of impressive, considering that Mark had left him at the top, and he hadn’t seemed in much of a hurry to join him. 

 

“Are you hurt?” Milo asked incredulously. Mark shook his head. 

 

“Naw, I’m just…” 

 

“Trying to get to the actual sign.” Milo realized. “I mean, there’s a reason they put this fence here.” 

 

“Yeah, but come on, no one’s around.” Mark said. “What are you, Chicken of the sea?” Mark teased, because he thought the equivalence was pretty funny.

 

Milo shot him a hard look at that. “Hold onto your ass.” Milo told him, and Mark grinned. He loved how easy it could sometimes be to manipulate the man into something.

 

Mark watched as Milo easily climbed up the chain link fence and got himself over it, hopping down on the other side. He had half a thought that he should just turn now and run back up the hill, and leave Milo to climb back over the fence to try and catch him, but, he really did want to get down to the Hollywood sign. It was an Instagrammable moment, you know. So he figured he’d save that prank for another time, as he clambered his way up and over the fence. 

 

Once he was over that hurdle, they just had to very carefully make their way down the hill, which again, was steep, but not impossible to accomplish. Milo seemed to have no trouble at all, and Mark just kind of took his time, making his way down. With Milo hovering nearby, it wasn’t like he was too worried about falling. 

 

They ended up reaching the second ‘O’ in the Hollywood sign without any trouble. For some reason, the letters were a lot bigger than he suspected. (And yeah, he understood about distances creating forced perspective illusions and all of that, but it was still something of a surprise to him.) Mark reached out almost giddy as he placed a hand on the letter. For being on the order of 90 some odd years old, it was pretty sturdy. He could kind of understand  the city not wanting deviants like him and Milo putting their grubby hands on it. He glanced back to where Milo was standing close by, looking pretty underwhelmed, honestly. 

 

“Ah, come on. It's pretty cool.” Mark told him, and Milo smirked a little. 

 

“It's an overpriced sign. A monument to the citizenry's self-importance. I've seen bigger and better rise and fall over the centuries.” Milo deadpanned, and Mark gave him a frustrated sigh. “But I am having fun seeing your reaction to it.” He quickly added.

 

Mark’s mood changed considerably at the added compliment. He turned around slightly to better look at Milo. “I like it.” He said. “And the view of the city at night is pretty cool too.” he added.

 

Milo took a step forward, placing his index finger under Mark’s chin, gently tipping his head up. “I much prefer the view of you, bathed in the moonlight, trembling under my hand.” He whispered, gently boxing Mark in against the sign. That shifted the mood intensely. Mark recognized the look on Milo’s face pretty intimately by now, and thought about maybe protesting a little. They were in a public place, anyone could come by. Milo cared a little bit less what people thought about him than Mark did; for all that the man valued his privacy and hid from notoriety he did have this arrogant attitude that he was better than most of humanity, maybe something like, 88 percent of humanity. It was some kind of superiority complex and it irritated Mark sometimes. Other times it was kind of hot. It was just one part of the man he was coming to care for, flaws and all. He thought about all of this for the two seconds he had before Milo tugged him in for that kiss and then Mark stopped thinking altogether. 

 

Everything after that was a blur of heat, soft sounds and sensual touches. Sex with Milo wasn’t a rushed thing, and it was nothing like the nightmare that was their first time. Mark gently grasped the lapels of Milo’s jacket, tugging the man in as his wandering hands gently grasped his hips. Mark could feel Milo’s hands rub at his sides, sliding up under his shirt, thumbs sliding under the waistband of the black jeans he was wearing. As Milo began to slide them down, gathering up the boxers he had worn underneath along with them, he broke their kiss, lips sliding along Mark’s cheek to bite shallowly at his neck. Mark whined as Milo worked a hickey into existence, something that he knew his followers would probably comment on. Then he’d have to finally admit to this little affair he was having. 

 

Well, maybe he wouldn’t admit to  _ everything _ .

 

With his pants pushed down to his ankles, Mark finally bothered to look over Milo’s shoulders. Back up at the top of the hill, there didn’t seem to be anyone around. Which was good, he figured, as Milo took him in hand and began to work him over. The man had only licked his palm to really lubricate things, but in the heat of the moment he didn’t really mind. Yeah, he knew he would later when everything was raw and sensitive, but for right then, it was fine. Mark sighed a little, letting his head fall back and hit the enamelled panel of the sign. 

 

“You find the weirdest places to fuck.” Mark finally said with a laugh. Milo licked his lips a little, giving him a bit of a lopsided grin. 

 

“I like to think I’m being adventurous.” he responded.

 

“Oh, that’s the excuse you’re making?” Mark grinned. “If I’d known you were gonna jump me like this I’d have packed some lube.”

 

“Ah.” Milo said, suddenly pulling back and snapping his fingers. Like he’d forgotten or something. “I did, actually. In the backpack.” 

 

“You fucking deviant.” Mark accused. “So you planned this.” 

 

“I planned for the possibility, but I wasn’t sure the mood would necessarily take us here.” Milo replied, swinging the bag off of one shoulder. 

 

“You’re a boy scout.” Mark replied, when the man pulled out the familiar bottle. “Ready for anything.” 

 

“I do try.” Milo said, as he squirted a good amount onto his fingers.

 

Mark slid one leg out of his pants to free himself somewhat, allowing his thighs to be parted as Milo went ahead and stepped between them. The lubricant was cool as Milo slid his fingers between his cheeks, but honestly, the California heat was stifling, even at night, made worse by the dry, heated wind that seemed to thrive in this region. It was kind of a relief to have that cool feeling against him. Mark let his own hands slide up Milo’s chest, up to his shoulders, behind him before linking them behind the man’s neck. He held on tightly, a sharp hiss of air escaping his lungs as Milo pressed the first finger inside of him. 

 

Milo was exceptionally careful with him, working him up, getting him hot and wet and slick. He was drawing noises out of him that Mark didn’t even realize he could make. Milo moved slowly, pulling out the first finger, and adding another, repeating the process until Mark was open enough to take the man’s very considerable length. Even then, Milo took the time to add more lube, pushing it into him, stretching him further until Mark could feel it threatening to drip out of him. Then those fingers pressed on a nerve inside of him that sent shivers racing up his spine and left his knees shaking and weak. Mark dipped against him in need but Milo was prepared and easily caught him.  

 

“Milo…” Mark whispered, mind numb from the various sensations Milo was giving him. 

 

“I’ve got you, my darling.” Milo whispered reassuringly to him. “I have you, you’re mine.”

 

Mark believed it. 

 

Suddenly both of Milo’s hands were under him, parting his cheeks. Mark gasped a little as Milo used that grip to lift him up, and Mark moved in response, grabbing onto Milo’s shoulders and wrapping his thighs around his waist, ankles crossed behind the other man’s back. This they’d done before. Like this he was entirely dependent on Milo, open and vulnerable. There really wasn’t anything he could do to stop this now, not that he would. It’s just that he remembered when that thought might have terrified him not too awfully long ago. Not so much any more. 

 

Mark had been so blown over with his lust that he didn’t even know when Milo had unzipped himself, or gotten himself ready, but he could feel the head of his dick brushing against his hole. The tip of it was digging at him, threatening intrusion, but teasingly holding back. He whined a little when Milo made him wait. Mark’s breath was stolen from him when Milo finally entered him. He pushed in, slow inch by slow inch.

 

“Shit.” Mark breathed out. He hunched over a little, burying his face against Milo’s neck. He used to absolutely hate the sensation of something so deep inside of him, and it had taken a lot of experimentation for the two men to get to this point, the point where Mark could enjoy it. The other man chuckled a little, one of his hands moving to smooth over his back. 

 

“You doing okay?” He asked, just checking up on Mark. 

 

“I’m good.” Mark assured him, breathing out slowly. His hands played a little at the hem of Milo’s shirt, like they needed something to do and he wasn’t sure what, even when they were already like this. “Shut up and just go.” he decided.

 

“Bratty.” Milo said, raising an eyebrow at him. “I like it.” He pressed Mark’s shoulders up against the sign, reangling them so he didn’t have to fully support him, and could just concentrate on pleasuring him. As he began to move, Mark dug his fingers hard into his shoulders, needing the grip to ground himself a little. 

 

Every motion drew little sounds of need out of him. Every movement, every motion inwards stretched him widely, pressed deeply inside. Mark panted hard against Milo’s neck, inadvertently breathing hot air along his neck as Milo fucked him. He pressed as close as he could to the other man, his dick pressed between them, creating some friction as it was pushed between them. It continued forever; it wasn’t long enough. Mark did his best from his position to try and meet the other man in his thrusts, trying to set up a rhythm, but it was almost pointless. Milo had complete control over this. It made Mark dizzy to feel the other man’s power used against him. Dizzying, but the feeling was hypnotic, addictive.

 

Mark let out a keening cry, and Milo pushed him into ecstasy. 

 

Mark came against Milo’s stomach, long and hard. Milo was quick to follow him, filling Mark with a warmth that was nearly unbearable. He pulled back a little after, trying to look over to Milo, who’d suddenly stilled, deep inside of him. Mark was about to ask what was up, when Milo suddenly, quietly slapped a hand over his mouth. 

 

Mark gave him a confused look, especially when Milo shifted his hold on him and crouched down low. 

 

He heard a couple of voices in the distance.

 

“You heard that, right?” 

 

The voice was pretty distinctly masculine, and accompanying it, in the bushes close by to them, the ending spot from someone’s flashlight. Mark realized then. They’d alerted the park rangers with the sounds from their coupling.

 

Once he saw that Mark understood, Milo carefully removed his hand, moving to gently draw Mark closer to him. It was kind of strange to be hiding like this, with Milo’s softening dick still inside him, but, he kind of got that it would be a bad idea to jerk away too hard right about then. Milo placed his hand on the panel beside his waist, twisting their positions a bit, and Mark had the second realization that Milo was essentially shielding him with his body. He supposed he could appreciate that. He didn’t think he wanted a couple of park rangers to see him in this position. 

 

One of the park rangers made a sound, thudding footsteps moving closer to where the two of them were hiding. “Probably a dog. Or a mountain lion.” He heard another ranger answer. “They’re always more active at night.”

 

“Or a couple of teens.” The first guy answered. “You’re right, this is probably a waste of time.” 

 

“Yeah, of course I’m right.” Was the reply he received. “Let’s head back to the station, it’s probably gonna be a slow night.” 

 

Mark watched as the beam of light slid away from them, as the ranger focused his light back on the trail.    
  
“What do you think was with all the animal corpses back there?” One of the guys asked, and Mark slowly shifted his gaze back to Milo. 

 

“Overactive coyote, maybe. It happens.” Was the answer the man received. 

 

Mark waited until he couldn’t hear their voices anymore, before he glanced at Milo. 

 

“Animal corpses?” He asked. Milo shrugged. 

 

“They were demonically possessed, it’s not like I wanted to go around snapping their necks. Honestly, this was the best outcome for them.” He shrugged. “I just wanted a quiet evening with you.” 

 

“Yeah, quiet.” Mark replied, shifting a little in Milo’s hold. 

 

“Shit, sorry.” Milo replied, biting his bottom lip as he gently pulled out, drawing a wince from Mark. “You okay?”

 

“Fine.” Mark replied, as he pulled back from Milo. It took him a minute to do a more thorough assessment on himself. He was sweaty, sticky, but he wasn’t as sore as he typically was after these encounters, so, Milo had done pretty good prepping him this time. “Are there really mountain lions out here?” He asked him quietly. Milo shrugged a little, as he went to stand, already sliding his clothing back into place. 

 

“A few, I think. I’m actually not sure how many there really are. Not as many as there used to be, because of the fires.” Milo said. 

 

“Not as many. Comforting.” Mark replied. “Are they attracted to like…” he vaguely gestured at the two of them, their states of undress. 

 

Milo looked at him like he was staring at a particularly cute, particularly dumb puppy, who had just run head first into a sliding glass door. “Please, give voice to whatever thought you’re having right now, I am dying to hear this.”

 

Mark pulled his hand back, moving to slide his pants back on instead. “Well if you’re gonna tease me, maybe you don’t deserve to know.” 

 

“Maybe.” Milo answered. “Also, what on earth makes you think they’d be attracted to whatever dumb thing we human-like beings do?” He said. “I think if anything they’d see what we’re doing and go on their way, because isn’t that what you would do, if you stumbled on two people having sex in the woods?” He questioned. 

 

“I would probably run.” Mark replied, as he turned, stepping out between the giant letters, just trying to get a little more light on himself so that he could see that everything was in place. He was a little sticky, and a little uncomfortable, but it wasn’t something he couldn’t manage. Trekking downhill was going to be easier than walking uphill, or that was his running theory, at any rate.

 

As he went to turn back to Milo though, something snagged, drawing him up short. His foot caught on something anchored good and hard into the ground and he stumbled forward. His foot was snapped hard to the left as his body worked against him in his effort to recover. He knew before he even hit the ground that he had twisted that ankle. Milo, who had been distracted for a brief moment beside him suddenly startled. 

 

“Mark??” 

 

“Augh.” Mark grunted, because naturally he didn’t even feel the pain until several seconds after it happened. “Ow fuck.” 

 

Milo swore quietly as the man suddenly leaned over him. “What happened?” he asked, as he helped Mark into a sitting position. 

 

“My foot got caught.” he said, pointing down by where it was still outstretched. “What in the hell was that?” He asked. 

 

Milo glanced to where Mark was pointing. “It’s a dandelion root.” he said. 

 

“Fucked me up good.” Mark mumbled. He stayed still as Milo gently pulled the errant weed away, freeing his foot. Mark gently tugged the limb towards him, wincing at the pressure the movement put on it.

 

“How bad is it?” Milo asked. “The sprain?” 

 

“I don’t know, but it fucking hurts.” Mark said. “Shit, how am I going to get back on the trail?” He asked, remembering that he had an uphill climb and a fence to hop back over, somehow. With the way his foot was throbbing, well. That probably wasn’t a good idea. 

 

“Amazing. It’s almost like that fence was erected for a reason.” Milo tsked at him. Mark shot him a look for his sarcasm. 

 

“Okay, but seriously, what do I do about it?” he asked. 

 

“It’ll be fine.” Milo assured him. “I’ll carry you out. Then when we get home, we can wrap, set you up with painkillers. The whole deal.”

 

He slid his arms around Mark, carefully, placing one arm under his knees, and the other under his back, gently lifting him off the ground. Mark pretty much understood the routine by now, as he wrapped his arms around Milo’s neck, keeping close to the other man. 

 

“I…” Mark said softly, examining Milo’s face a bit in the dim light, as he began to carry him back towards the trail. “You know. This has been kind of a weird night.” Mark said. “I did not expect any of this shit to happen.”

 

“Well.” Milo replied. “It’ll make a memorable story to tell your grandchildren.” 

 

Mark huffed. “We are  _ not  _ repeating this story to anyone. Especially not our grandkids.” Mark scolded. “You think they want to hear that?” he asked.

 

“It’s not about what they want to hear.” Milo replied, amused. “I got to hear all about how I was conceived. It’s good for them, builds character.” 

 

“I mean, I did too. But along with that came a substantial amount of emotional trauma.” Mark replied. 

 

Milo nodded, was quiet for a moment. “So what I’m taking away from this is you’re open to having kids.” 

 

“I never said that.” Mark corrected him sharply. “It was a metaphorical…. Don’t look at me like that.” He said, jabbing a finger in Milo’s way too smug face. “You and your sister, I fucking swear…” 

 

“Relax, I’m just teasing you because you get so uppity about it.” Milo said, as they reached the chain link fence. “I wouldn’t actually want to put you through that.” 

 

Mark gave him a suspicious look, but he calmed down after a moment. “Well good.” He said after a moment. “I still don’t trust you though.” He said. 

 

“Your concern is noted and also warranted.” Milo admitted. 

 

It took a little work, but Milo was able to help Mark over the fence, and once they were both on the other side of it, Milo carried Mark down the rest of the trail. As they reached the car, the heat from the Santa Anas prickled at their skin, carrying with it a sense of foreboding, though neither of them could quite place why.

**Author's Note:**

> So, in Southern California, we deal with something called the Santa Ana winds. In the town I live in in particular, they can be pretty fucking obnoxious. They fuck us over on the yearly. They make autumn super fucking hot. They make fires worse. They knock over trees. I personally know an entire family that was killed indirectly by them, when they knocked over a power line, which electrified the family's back yard, started a fire, and killed everyone that ran out to try and put the fire out. In literature, they're referenced as a bad omen. I may have other reasons for bringing them up in here. There goes that whole weather motif again. Man, it's like I'm trying to push that symbolism again. 
> 
> Also holy shit I actually left Mark in Los Angeles for a fic, how did that happen? I personally have never been to the Hollywood sign. I will never go to the Hollywood sign, even though I know how to get up there. Shit like [this](https://www.dailynews.com/2014/03/10/hollywood-sign-severed-head-case-solved-lapd-makes-arrest-in-2012-case/) happens at the Hollywood sign. What's my point? **Stay the fuck out of Los Angeles.** Los Angeles is good for nobody. 
> 
> Also idk if this needs saying, but, I hope Mark feels better soon, pretty sure he got that infection just from being in Los Angeles. Man, I'm telling you, shit's changed since I got my wisdom teeth out, what, 16 years ago? I don't remember having 'holes' left over after my stitches dissolved, I was never given a syringe to rinse them out. I don't think my reaction to being put under was even all that extreme. My mother said I just asked for her a couple of times, and kept trying to point at things with my IV arm. Also for the person I caught in the stream Monday calling him a baby. I mean, I agree, but honestly, we're all babies compared to how my dad got his wisdom teeth taken out. He was going to basic training the next day, he needed them out, so my mom's cousin (who was actually still in training cough) offered to do it for him for free. And my dad told him no pain medicine, because after the procedure he was going to have to drive himself to the airport, so he can catch his plane leaving at 5am. So around midnight, my dad got his wisdom teeth removed by a dental assistant still in school, put a few tea bags in his mouth to catch the blood, without anesthesia, without anything to numb the pain, took his antibiotics, drove himself to the airport and began basic training the next day. We. Are. **ALL** basic bitches compared to that.
> 
> I think that's all I have for this one, lol. See you for the next chapter in this series.


End file.
